Arsenal's inability to perform against Anderlecht at the Constant Vanden Stock stadium in Belgium is not the real tragedy for Gunners supporters who must improve considerably if they are to prevent embarrassment in the latter stages of Europe after.

The dramatic last-gasp equaliser and winner is a result that cannot mask over a display that was painfully substandard and an outing not befitting of a team with the aspirations nor finances of a club like Arsenal.

No, the real tragedy is that they finally have the spending power to recruit world class players like Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez but are actually regressing as a club.

But how can they push forward?

Anderlecht midfielder Andy Najar may have temporarily broken Arsenal hearts as the Honduran climbed to head the ball home for a winner that sees the Belgian team leap-frog the North Londoners in Group D, but there were worrying signs that Arsene Wenger's stubbornness continues to blight this team with high potential.

The fact that Arsenal continually suffer muscular injuries is a sign of inefficient fitness and recovery programs implemented on the training ground.

The fact that Wenger had to field a left back in the heart of midfield is an indication of an unbalanced squad and, ergo, questionable transfer policies. This can only be underlined when Thomas Vermaelen was sold with no clear replacement lined up.

And if Wenger is to persist with a 4-1-4-1 formation - at home and abroad - then he at least needs to have the proper personnel in the right positions. Currently, he has no defensive battler like Nemanja Matic, at Chelsea, for example.

Wenger has had years to remedy these woes but instead every season paints a familiar story. Kieran Gibbs and Lukas Podolski may have spared Wenger -and Arsenal's - blushes, but how long will it be before this team is found out by a rampant force like Chelsea, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Barcelona or, whisper it quietly… Manchester United?